External Supervisor Research Articles

Active Inference and Reinforcement Learning: A Unified Inference on Continuous State and Action Spaces Under Partial Observability.

Reinforcement learning (RL) has garnered significant attention for developing decision-making agents that aim to maximize rewards, specified by an external supervisor, within fully observable environments. However, many real-world problems involve partial or noisy observations, where agents cannot access complete and accurate information about the environment. These problems are commonly formulated as partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs). Previous studies have tackled RL in POMDPs by either incorporating the memory of past actions and observations or by inferring the true state of the environment from observed data. Nevertheless, aggregating observations and actions over time becomes impractical in problems with large decision-making time horizons and high-dimensional spaces. Furthermore, inference-based RL approaches often require many environmental samples to perform well, as they focus solely on reward maximization and neglect uncertainty in the inferred state. Active inference (AIF) is a framework naturally formulated in POMDPs and directs agents to select actions by minimizing a function called expected free energy (EFE). This supplies reward-maximizing (or exploitative) behavior, as in RL, with information-seeking (or exploratory) behavior. Despite this exploratory behavior of AIF, its use is limited to problems with small time horizons and discrete spaces due to the computational challenges associated with EFE. In this article, we propose a unified principle that establishes a theoretical connection between AIF and RL, enabling seamless integration of these two approaches and overcoming their limitations in continuous space POMDP settings. We substantiate our findings with rigorous theoretical analysis, providing novel perspectives for using AIF in designing and implementing artificial agents. Experimental results demonstrate the superior learning capabilities of our method compared to other alternative RL approaches in solving partially observable tasks with continuous spaces. Notably, our approach harnesses information-seeking exploration, enabling it to effectively solve reward-free problems and rendering explicit task reward design by an external supervisor optional.

REFORMULATION OF THE DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE PROSECUTOR’S COMMISSION IN INDONESIAN LEGISLATION

Article 2 of Presidential Regulation No. 18/2011 on the Prosecutorial Commission states that the Commission is a non-structural institution that is independent in its tasks and authorities. Although it is under and responsible to the President, this commission acts as an external supervisor of the prosecutor’s office, which is required due to frequent violations of ethical codes and abuse of authority by prosecutorial officials. The public is dissatisfied with case handling by the internal supervisor of the prosecutor’s office, so the presence of the Prosecutor’s Commission is expected. However, there is a discrepancy in the regulation of the Prosecutorial Commission. The commission, as an external supervisor, should be regulated by law to maintain a balance in constitutional law. In reality, the commission is only regulated through a Presidential Regulation, so it does not have the authority to summon and examine prosecution officials who have violated the code of ethics. This research aims to examine the duties and authorities of the Prosecutor’s Commission based on existing regulations, and to reformulate policies so that its tasks and authorities are in accordance with its expected role as an external supervisor of the prosecutor’s office. This research uses the normative juridical method, examining written law from various aspects such as theory, history, legal politics, and comparative national law. This research will also theoretically clarify the function of the prosecutor’s office in society. The Prosecutorial Commission of the Republic of Indonesia is regulated by Presidential Regulation No. 18/2011, but its autonomy has not been fully recognized because it is still responsible to the President and can only provide recommendations. Policy reformulation is required by amending Article 38 of Law No. 16/2014 so that the Prosecutorial Commission is governed by a stronger special law, allowing it to perform its duties independently.

A generalized homogeneity-based formation control for perturbed unicycle multi-agent systems

In this paper, the formation control problem is considered for unicycle multi-agent systems whose kinematic models contain some external perturbations. The approach to addressing the problem involves the development of a homogeneity-based leader–follower formation control protocol, which takes into account bounded perturbations. It is shown that such a control protocol can be obtained if there is an external supervisor monitoring the group and broadcasting a limited amount of data to followers. Simulations as well as experimental results are performed to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control protocol using the QBot2 unicycle mobile robot.

Symphony of Community Social Work in Outlying Islands: Reflections between an External Supervisor and Social Workers

<p>不論是由社會工作專業工作者進入推動計畫，還是社區工作培力社區組織，或者僅是進行地理性範圍服務和社區宣導，當大家談論到社區工作時總是有不同的範圍內容的想像，於是身為外聘督導與資深的離島工作者的我們開始討論到：是否這些想像僅是因為不同的計畫任務而來？又大家都在做社區，能否有一致的、立基於社工專業的方向與經驗累積？因此，這篇文章我們透過外聘督導陪伴離島社工，所沉積的同島和跳島工作故事，從不同職務經歷的轉換，發現的社區現象，覺知啟動離島社區工作的核心關鍵和從事社區工作介入的視角，進而討論訓練社會工作者擔任社區工作者的養成要素和督導機制，提升社區工作專業品質。</p> <p> </p><p>In the various conceptualisations of scope and content, community work assumes different forms, including the promotion of social work initiatives, nurturing of community organisations, and provision of geographical services and community advocacy. In this study, the thoughts of external supervisors and social workers in outlying islands of Taiwan were gathered to determine whether the aforementioned conceptualisations solely stem from different project tasks and whether they collectively align with the principles of social work. To elucidate the fundamental underpinnings of initiating community work on outlying islands and offer insights into possible interventions, narratives of collaborative effort between external supervisors and social workers on outlying islands were collected, including same-island and island-hopping experiences across distinct job roles. In addition, factors contributing to mechanisms of development and supervision aimed at training community workers were investigated to enhance the professional quality of community work.</p> <p> </p>

Supporting Relational, Trauma-Informed Social Care Work with Autistic Adults: Evaluation of a Reflective Supervision Group Pilot

Abstract There is a growing body of literature highlighting the need for reflective supervision to support the often complex and challenging practice of social care workers. The current study aimed to explore an Irish social care team’s experience of a pilot reflective supervision group. The study participants were six male social care workers supporting autistic adults in the community. The team met for four one-monthly group supervision sessions, facilitated by an external supervisor. A reflective, relational approach was taken to the supervisory work, using role-play, free association and the Seven-Eyed model of supervision. At the end of the four-month pilot, participants completed a brief questionnaire to evaluate the supervision group experience. Thematic analysis of the participants’ open responses revealed the following themes: (i) increased insight/empathy; (ii) experiential learning; (iii) enhanced awareness/skills in relational practice; (iv) personal resilience; (v) team resilience; and (vi) emotional challenges. The study results suggest the potential importance of reflective supervision in boosting resilience, motivation and emotional insight when supporting people with unique relational needs.

Does environmental information disclosure affect corporate cash flow? An analysis by taking media attentions into consideration

Continued conflict flare-up and lingering supply bottlenecks in recent years highlight the importance of corporate risk management. Based on stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory, this study investigates whether Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure, as well as its three pillars, helps hedge against the cash flow risk. Using the data of A-share listed firms in China over the period 2011–2021, our results show that ESG disclosure serves to tame the fluctuations in cash flow, especially in the long run. A one-point increase in the ESG disclosure score lowers the volatility of 1-year and 5-year cash flow rate by 0.014 and 0.020, respectively. In addition, we find that media attention, as an essential intermediary and external supervisor, strongly reverses the positive effect of environmental information disclosure on cash flow risk, while such an effect disappears for social and governance pillars. Further analysis indicates the weak performance of ESG disclosure for SOEs and SMEs.

Human Resources Management System At Police Resort Bengkulu Utara

Human Resources Management System At Police Resort Bengkulu Utara

Supervised learning of soliton X-junctions in lithium niobate films on insulator.

In this Letter, the first implementation, to our knowledge, of X-junctions between photorefractive soliton waveguides in lithium niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) films is reported. The experiments were performed on 8 µm thick films of congruent undoped LiNbO3. Compared with bulk crystals, the use of films reduces the soliton formation time, allows more control over the interaction between the injected soliton beams, and opens a route to integration with silicon optoelectronics functions. The created X-junction structures show effective supervised learning, directing the signals propagated inside the soliton waveguides into the output channels highlighted by the control assigned by the external supervisor. Thus, the obtained X-junctions have behaviors analogous to biological neurons.

KEWENANGAN PENGAWASAN DAN ADVOKASI KOMISI YUDISIAL TERHADAP HAKIM BERDASARKAN UNDANG-UNDANG NO. 18 TAHUN 2011 PERUBAHAN ATAS UNDANG-UNDANG NO. 22 TAHUN 2004 TENTANG KOMISI YUDISIAL

The purpose of this study is to find out how the form of supervision and advocacy carried out by the Judicial Commission against Judges based on Law no. 18 of 2011 concerning Amendments to Law No. 22 of 2004 concerning the Judicial Commission. This research is a type of normative legal research. Whereas Article 24B paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution has explicitly stated that the Judicial Commission is an independent State institution that is given the authority to select candidates for Supreme Court Justices and authorities in the context of maintaining and upholding the honor, dignity and behavior of judges (Judicial Commission as external supervisor of Judge). Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is an internal supervisor based on Article 39 of Law No. 48 of 2009 concerning Judicial Power. The Judicial Commission advocates for judges with the issuance of the Indonesian Judicial Commission Regulation No. 8 of 2013 concerning Judge Advocacy

Peer assessment as a method for facilitating cross-sector learning: A national pilot

Background: The delay of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) pharmacist registration assessments in England due to COVID-19 created a need for innovative assessment methods. Peer assessment was identified as a potential method for use across the sector and geographical boundaries. The aim was to establish a model for a national peer assessment tool to support Early Careers Pharmacists (ECPs) development. Method: Participating ECP submitted cases using a standard template to be anonymised and distributed to three peer reviewers. An external supervisor provided a final agreement on the feedback given. Results: Two hundred and fifty pharmacists participated in peer assessment from a range of sectors and locations. 75.5% (n=566) of potential peer reviews were completed with an average score at expected standard for an ECPs. Commonality of sector experience between submitter and peer did not affect scoring. Conclusion: These findings support acceptability and feasibility of asynchronous pharmacy peer assessment across sector and geographical boundaries.

How to Restrain Regulatory Capture and Promote Green Innovation in China. An Analysis Based on Evolutionary Game Theory

In response to severe environmental challenges, green innovation (GI) has been thoroughly considered by various governments. Although China has promulgated many environmental policies to promote environmental governance, regulatory capture and the lack of independent external supervisors lead to a challenging future. This study employs an evolutionary game method to explore how the policy burden and media affect decision-making between local governments and manufacturing enterprises. On this basis, the simulation method is used to examine critical factors that affect regulatory capture and GI. The results show that the policy burden is the main factor that causes regulatory capture. When the policy burden exceeds a certain threshold, it will cause regulatory capture and hinder GI. Moreover, media, as an external supervisor, can restrain regulatory capture and promote GI significantly. Specifically, when the capacity of media supervision is high enough, due to the positive role of the media, it will inhibit the negative effects of policy burdens. Finally, combined with the different development stages of China’s green industry, the corresponding policy recommendations are given. These results extend the research of regulatory capture and provide a reference for governments to promote environmental governance in practice.

Research on Fiscal Expenditures on Science and Technology Efficiency, Fiscal Transparency and Media Coverage: Evidence from China

This empirical research sheds light on the internal mechanism of government fiscal transparency, media coverage, and the efficiency fiscal expenditures on science & technology (FESTs). Research findings show that fiscal transparency and media coverage have a significant positive effect on the efficiency of FESTs. Moreover, media coverage has a partial mediatory effect on the relationship between fiscal transparency and fiscal expenditures on science & technology. To improve the efficiency of FESTs, government departments should formulate reasonable regulations on the disclosure of government fiscal information and invite the media to act as an external supervisor in order to strengthen fiscal transparency. We suggest the implications can be used for academic, policy, and practice-driven research and practice.

The internal/external debate: The tensions within social work supervision

INTRODUCTION: Supervision is crucial to social workers’ practice. Within the current managerial social services environment, the supervisor juggles organisational and professional accountabilities—organisational agendas often dominate practitioners’ reflection. In response, alternative types of supervision have emerged, one of which is external supervision.METHODS: This paper analyses qualitative discussions with key informants and supervisory dyads in community-based child welfare services regarding reflective practices in supervision. Internal and external supervision arrangements were discussed in depth relative to their impact on social work practice.FINDINGS: Analysis of discussions identified four themes: the significance of external supervision for building capacity, resilience and confidential reflective space; the role of internal supervision for managerial and organisational agendas; tensions associated with external supervision regarding funding and accountability; and important attributes of the supervisor in successful working relationships.CONCLUSIONS: External supervision is essential for professional competence but considerable inter-organisational variation exists in how this is utilised. Three key considerations emerged: accountabilities of external supervisor, supervisee and internal supervisor towards collaborative practice, evaluation and feedback; purchasing of external supervision; and the professional development of external supervisors. Further education connecting the importance of the supervisory relationship to realise critical thinking and practice development is essential for the future of social work.

A Study on the Relationship between Analysts’ Cash Flow Forecasts Issuance and Accounting Information: Evidence from Korea

This study analyzes the relationship between the future cash flow forecast information provided by financial analysts and accounting information. We examine whether the joint issuance of financial analyst earnings forecasts and cash flow forecasts from 2011 to 2015 contributes to the information usefulness of Korean listed firms. The empirical results of this study are as follows. First, the issuance of analysts’ cash flow forecasts and earnings forecast accuracy were significant positive values. Cash flow forecast accuracy and earnings forecast accuracy were significant positive values. Second, the issuance of analysts’ cash flow forecasts and buy–sell bid spread are significant negative values. These results show that the information asymmetry between the manager and the investor can be reduced based on the rich information environment. This study suggests that cash flow forecasting information of financial analysts provides important evidence for capital market participants because it provides evidence that capital market participants’ information can be used as useful information for economic decision-making. These results show the sustainability of a firm from the viewpoint of a financial analyst who acts as an intermediary and external supervisor in the capital market. In addition, the analysts’ cash flow forecasting information is expected to reduce the information asymmetry between the company and the investor, thereby increasing the transparency and sustainability of the firm.

What works in video-based youth statutory caseworker supervision – caseworker and supervisor perspectives

ABSTRACTThis article concerns an approach to supervision for statutory youth casework. The model involves caseworkers recording a video of their meetings with their clients and sending it to an external supervisor. The supervisor selects video clips. They then hold an online meeting where they review the clips, and the supervisor gives feedback based on a standardized model. The caseworker then uses the feedback in their future practice and the cycle is repeated. 16 statutory youth caseworkers and 6 supervisors from three municipalities in Denmark participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences with the video supervision and feedback model. The interviews focused on facilitating and inhibiting factors with regard to the use of the model. A thematic analysis was conducted. Communication regarding the law, giving clients space to find their voice, and paying heed to how each relationship was progressing were emphasized as central focus points. Advice had to be concrete and achievable and come from supervisors with statutory experience. Participants highlighted the significance of viewing practice directly via video footage. Film clips used for feedback needed to be short and well chosen. The technology, logistics and infrastructure, including management support, were important. Findings were used to develop the model.

Essential Care for Every Baby: improving compliance with newborn care practices in rural Nicaragua

BackgroundNeonatal mortality comprises an increasing proportion of childhood deaths in the developing world. Essential newborn care practices as recommended by the WHO may improve neonatal outcomes in resource limited settings. Our objective was to pilot a Helping Babies Breathe and Essential Care for Every Baby (HBB and ECEB) implementation package using HBB-ECEB training combined with supportive supervision in rural Nicaragua.MethodsWe employed an HBB-ECEB implementation package in El Ayote and Santo Domingo, two rural municipalities in Nicaragua and used a pre- and post- data collection design for comparison. Following a period of pre-intervention data collection (June–August 2015), care providers were trained in HBB and ECEB using a train-the- trainer model. An external supportive supervisor monitored processes of care and collected data. Data on newborn care processes and short-term outcomes such as hypothermia were collected from facility medical records and analyzed using standard run charts. Home visits were used to determine breastfeeding rates at 7, 30 and 60 days.ResultsThere were 480 institutional births during the study period (June 2015–June 2016). Following the HBB-ECEB implementation package, cord care improved (pre-intervention median 66%; post-intervention shift to ≥85%) and early skin-to-skin care improved (pre-intervention median 0%; post-intervention shift to ≥56%, with a high of 92% in June 2016). Rates of administration of ophthalmic ointment and vitamin K were high pre-intervention (median 97%) and remained high. Early initiation of breastfeeding increased with a pre-intervention median of 25% and post-intervention shift to ≥28%, with a peak of 81% in June 2016. Exclusive breastfeeding rates increased short-term but were not significantly different by 60-days of life (9% pre-intervention versus 21% post-intervention).ConclusionsThe implementation of the HBB-ECEB programs combined with supportive supervision improved the quality of care for newborns in terms of cord care, early skin-to-skin care and early initiation of breastfeeding. The rates of administration of ophthalmic ointment and vitamin K were high pre- intervention and remained high afterwards. These findings show that HBB-ECEB programs implemented with supportive supervision can improve quality of care for newborns.

Development and validation of the ExPRESS instrument for primary health care providers’ evaluation of external supervision

ABSTRACTBackground: External supervision of primary health care facilities to monitor and improve services is common in low-income countries. Currently there are no tools to measure the quality of support in external supervision in these countries.Aim: To develop a provider-reported instrument to assess the support delivered through external supervision in Rwanda and other countries.Methods: “External supervision: Provider Evaluation of Supervisor Support” (ExPRESS) was developed in 18 steps, primarily in Rwanda. Content validity was optimised using systematic search for related instruments, interviews, translations, and relevance assessments by international supervision experts as well as local experts in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Construct validity and reliability were examined in two separate field tests, the first using exploratory factor analysis and a test–retest design, the second for confirmatory factor analysis.Results: We included 16 items in section A (‘The most recent experience with an external supervisor’), and 13 items in section B (‘The overall experience with external supervisors’). Item-content validity index was acceptable. In field test I, test–retest had acceptable kappa values and exploratory factor analysis suggested relevant factors in sections A and B used for model hypotheses. In field test II, models were tested by confirmatory factor analysis fitting a 4-factor model for section A, and a 3-factor model for section B.Conclusions: ExPRESS is a promising tool for evaluation of the quality of support of primary health care providers in external supervision of primary health care facilities in resource-constrained settings. ExPRESS may be used as specific feedback to external supervisors to help identify and address gaps in the supervision they provide. Further studies should determine optimal interpretation of scores and the number of respondents needed per supervisor to obtain precise results, as well as test the functionality of section B.

‘Loitering with intent’ – a model of practice for working in a New Zealand secondary school

What are the critical ingredients that enable social work involvement in the empowerment of a secondary school community? Social work in schools has become a growing field of practice in New Zealand primary schools in the last 15 years. Social workers are less common in secondary schools and where they are practising, the predominant model for practice is casework or counselling. This paper presents a dialogue between a final year BSW student and a practice teacher who acted as an external supervisor during the student’s final placement. It highlights the process, activities and learning that occurred when a ‘loitering with intent’ community development approach was adopted by the student in a decile 4 rural secondary school with 500 pupils. Strength-based and social justice themes permeate the experience. Important insights are shared into key factors contributing to the success of the placement and to the sustainable programmes that endured after its conclusion.

Challenges of Instructional Supervision of Senior High Schools in the Techiman Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana

This study sought to investigate the challenges of supervision of teaching and learning in public Senior High Schools in the Techiman Municipality of Brong-Ahafo Region. The descriptive survey was employed to collect data. Questionnaires and interviews were the main instruments used in data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. One hundred and twenty respondents made up of 3 headmasters of SHSs, 116 teachers and 1 external supervisor was sampled. Random and purposive sampling techniques were used in selecting participants. The study found that continuing distance learning programmes offered by the University of Cape Coast and University of Education, Winneba were the latest developments in formal training for instructional supervisors. Inadequate and irregular supplies of fuel for cars, as well as lack of payment of car maintenance allowances were among the challenges hindering effective instructional supervision in the Municipality. The study recommends among others things that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should provide headmasters with periodic in-service training programmes to keep them abreast with current trends and practices in instructional supervision.

The Potential Impacts of Becoming a Parent on Practice

There are many experiences in working with vulnerable children and families that require reflective practice on the part of the practitioner in order to identify issues of crossover between the personal and the professional, and areas of transference and counter transference. This article suggests a particular challenge is presented in the process of the practitioner becoming a parent themselves. Those who have been working with children and families for much of their careers may find becoming a parent presents a range of conflicting and challenging considerations that need to be unpacked throughout the process of transition. The author has a background of working in child protection for over 20 years and became a parent herself just over 4 years ago. She provides clinical and group supervision to a wide range of practitioners as an external supervisor. This practice-based reflection piece draws on the author's experience, with inputs from supervisees and the examined literature, to identify some key themes. The issues raised suggest a need for more research and greater thoughtfulness around the impact of becoming a parent on practitioners themselves and on their practice.